Patricia Schroeder: “Mr. Chairman, I must say I rise to discuss the amendment by the distinguished chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary…”

“Mr. Chairman, I must say I rise to discuss the amendment by the distinguished chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary because I know he has given this very serious thought. But I think I come down on the other side and say maybe this is too hasty at this moment, and to move forward right at this time without more serious debate is very troubling. The gentleman from Illinois and I were both here when this amendment went through, and I would be the first to concede it has not worked as well as many of us had hoped it would work when it was passed in 1973. But let me talk about what I thought the driving factors were of that war powers amendment. If we go back and look at the history, the Constitution says in article I, section 2, the Congress is the one, the Congress is the one that gives the money and raises the army. We are the ones that must do that. And the President is the commander-in-chief. If you also look at President Washington's speeches about foreign entanglements and many other such things, I think it is very clear that our forefathers and foremothers never really foresaw a day when we would be deploying hundreds of thousands of troops overseas.”